On March 7, U.S. Defense Undersecretary for Policy John Rood de-facto confirmed the US had been aware that Russia had developed a sensational nuclear weapons technology.
“I think the statements made by Russian President Putin while not surprising were nonetheless disappointing. While we have been aware of the development of Russia’s capabilities […] it is nonetheless disappointing to see that the president of the Russian Federation chose to feature these capabilities in a way that he did,” John Rood told lawmakers during a budget hearing before the House Armed Services Committee.
However, the defense official emphasized the US still has a nuclear capability as well as conventional weapons capable of countering powers seeking to change “the world order and […] territorial borders.”
Rood’s words are a clear confirmation that Russia’s new state of the art strategic weapon systems, revealed by President Vladimir Putin, are the fact already influencing the balance of power between the two countries.
While some mainstream and Russian opposition media outlets have rushed to describe new Russian weapons as “fake”, the Pentagon is “aware of the development of Russia’s capabilities”.
On March 1, Putin revealed six new Russian strategic weapon systems, including hypersonic missiles, laser weapons and unmanned submersible vehicles. The systems are based on unique technological achievements. One of them is a “small-scale heavy-duty nuclear energy unit”, which enables the development “a strategic nuclear weapons system with a nuclear-powered missile.”
